The promotion of theatre in Adelaide is very near and dear to Matt Byrne’s heart and whenever he has the opportunity to promote theatre, he grabs it with open arms. The Adelaide Fringe is the perfect vehicle for this and gives the wider Adelaide community an opportunity to be part of unique theatre. Matt being an accomplished, well-seasoned writer pens a lively and enthusiastic production each and every year for the The Adelaide Fringe.
This year’s offering is “Married At First Fight”. Given that I am someone who is not into Reality Television and find it inane and mind numbing at the best of times, I was disappointed that again this year Matt has decided to ride on the coat-tails of a show that allows people to behave badly all in the interest of their 15 minutes of fame. If you are into gratuitous language and stereotypical characterisations, you will love this show. The cast of Matt Byrne as Ron Turn, Rose Vallen as Valerie Salmon, Amber Platten as Kylie Cleavage and Brad Butvilla as Barry Bigtime all work very hard for the laughs they do get and the venue itself and the staff at Maxim’s as always is friendly and welcoming. Brad in particular had some very funny lines and his delivery and timing were impeccable. For me, the most horrifying sequence to take was Valerie’s recitation on the demise of her previous seven husbands, in particular the last who passed away from Cancer. Having just attended Funerals for a 22-year-old male friend and a 36-year-old father of two both who died of Cancer in the last week., I found this portion of the show to be very dark, upsetting and unnecessary. The show in my opinion was too long and although it will tighten up over the coming weeks, could probably loose around 30 minutes. This time could allow the patrons more drinking time. Perhaps turn this extra time into the after-Wedding Reception – just a thought.
Sound was over-powering in such a small, intimate venue. I am still puzzled as to why each of the characters had two microphones. The audience are not totally stupid, we can distinguish between a Presenter and a Character after all. Having said all of that, most of the audience seemed to enjoy the Opening Night offering and I am sure given the right demographic (some of the jokes would only make sense to those of us over 45), it will go over a treat. “Married at First Fight” will continue to build from now until 16th March at Maxim’s Wine Bar in Norwood.
